Update at 9:34 a.m.: After relatively little discussion, the Economic Development Committee voted unanimously to pass the proposal to the full council. In the words of council member Scott Griggs, "This is a great project." And no one disagreed -- which was a little surprising, given that the $50 million in TIF reimbursements is the largest since Forest City asked the city for $70 million in public subsidies in 2005 for the Mercantile redo. That controversial deal was saved only when then-Mayor Laura Miller intervened, insisting at the time that "we created the TIF primarily to fund the Mercantile project, because without turning the Merc block around, we would have no development from Neiman Marcus to Deep Ellum."

"If we don't get any at 50 or 30 percent" of the area median income, said the council member from Oak Cliff, "I have some concerns." Karl Zavitkovsky, head of Dallas' Office of Economic Development, said that would be addressed in coming weeks.

Here's one reason why the city believes 1401 Elm is so important: According to Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans, it contains "27 percent of all the vacant space in the" Central Business District.

That's what Karl Zavitkovsky, head of Dallas' Office of Economic Development, told us in early November, when a New York-based developer emerged as the latest group interested in resuscitating the 52-story George Dahl-designed tower at 1401 Elm St., known as the First National Bank Tower when it opened its doors in 1965. He chose his words carefully, because he's been down this road before; matter of fact, the last group that promised an extreme makeover for the building vowed to have its doors reopened by, well, this month.

But instead Zavitkovsky will spend Monday morning explaining to the Dallas City Council's Economic Development Committee why it should sign off on spending $50 million in tax increment financing dollars on the redo, which, according to city documents, will result in 512 residential units; 71,000 square feet of office space; another 71,000 square feet of retail and restaurant offerings; and 925 much-needed parking spaces. The proposal from Olympic Property Partners also calls for an outdoor plaza and reopening the observation deck, which offers views like these.

According to the briefing documents, Olympic expects the overhaul to cost $151.3 million, with about a third of that coming out of the Downtown Connection TIF -- $45 million in principal and up to $5 million in interest.

Zavitkovsky feels significantly more confident about the project after the new year than he did before Thanksgiving. He points to Olympic's previous projects, specifically the extreme makeover of the circa-1925 145 E. 32nd St. in New York City, as proof it has "the capacity" to get things done. But he points out there are myriad strings attached to the deal, which will keep Olympic from tying up the TIF "into infinity." Among the caveats: To qualify for the money, which it wouldn't even get till the project is completed anyway, Olympic has to have all of its financing in place by the end of August, when it also has to begin construction (or demolition, depending on your definition of rehab).

"They've put a lot of time in on the preliminary part of the project," says Zavitkovsky. "It seems to be something executable. I think they're opting not to use historical tax credits, just because they want more flexibility in terms of the building's facade and everything. We'll just have to see how it all shakes out."

He's optimistic -- because, frankly, he has to be. The skyscraper shuttered four years ago this month, following years of declining leases; it just got too expensive to keep the lights on. But its closing left a huge black hole in the middle of downtown. Not only is it an iconic structure -- the former Elm Place was once the tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi -- but it also sits directly on a Dallas Area Rapid Transit stop.

"It's the largest continuous block right now that's empty, so we're going to give it a shot," says Zavitkovsky, who notes that the building alone is 1.5 million square feet of empty. "That's my thinking and the thinking of the TIF board -- give it a shot, but create terms that protect our downside. It's a huge amount of vacant space strategically located on the DART line, and part of our mission is to exorcise ourselves of this empty office space. We've got a couple of buildings, both this and the Statler, which just aren't going to work as the original space. So redevelopment of both of those is a big priority."